BY Alexa Irizarry
Staff Reporter
On Sept. 26, Pepsi announced on Twitter that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will perform at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, which will be held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Feb. 2, 2020.
“I am very excited about the halftime show with Shakira and J.Lo because I think it will be something like never before. These stars have a big presence on the stage alone, and together I think it will be record-breaking,” said sophomore Pauline Cordova.
According to the Associated Press, this marks the first time that two Latina artists will be headlining the halftime show.
Many students expressed their excitement about the two singers being chosen as the performers.
“I have known about them since I was a little girl. Lopez is inspiring to many people, I can say the same about Shakira, both voices have always been on the radio and they bring a lot of culture into pop music,” said junior Paige Willis.
Lopez is a Grammy-nominated singer and Golden Globe-nominated actress who has sold over 75 million records. Recently, she has been promoting her latest film project, “Hustlers,” which she produced alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
“I usually do watch the halftime show with my mom, I think she will be even more excited because she has been listening to J.Lo since she was Jenny from the Block,” said Cordova.
Shakira is a decorated artist who released her first album in 1991. Since then, she has sold over 70 million albums worldwide. She has won three Grammys and 11 Latin Grammys. She recently wrapped her international tour, “El Dorado,” in Nov. 2018.
Students believe that despite Lopez and Shakira being older artists, they will be a great performance to watch.
“I think it’s good that they are going back to older artists for the Super Bowl, since I’m 21 now, all these throwbacks bring me back to my glory days,” said junior Steven Tavares.
In past years, there has been controversy surrounding the performances, such as last year’s duo, Travis Scott and Maroon 5.
Some students expressed that they will not watch the halftime performance unless they enjoy the artists performing.
“Honestly, I wasn’t that excited. I don’t really care for either of their music,” said junior Alex Watson. “I only watch the halftime show if I like the artist that is performing. If I don’t like the artist, then I won’t typically watch the halftime show.”
Some students are faithful Super Bowl halftime watchers.
“I always watch the halftime show, but in recent years, it has not been good. I bet this year’s performance will be a lot better,” said sophomore Noah Centeno.
It is Shakira and Lopez’s first time hitting the Pepsi stage, as well as the first time the halftime show will have input given by Jay-Z. The rapper’s company, Roc Nation, will be co-producing the show.
According to Roc Nation, “Pepsi collaborated with Roc Nation to bring these two icons together for the first time ever, for what will be unforgettable performance on the world’s biggest stage.”
“These two remarkable artists are setting a new precedent for what this show can become and we’re confident that this will be an incredible performance for the ages,” said Pepsi’s Vice President of Marketing, Todd Kaplan.
The Super Bowl LIV will be broadcast in 180 countries on Fox.
This Associated Press contributed to this article.
